Judd L.
hope they can do better
I am sorry to say I feel the same way as another reviewer that said she, “raged to her freinds”, every chance she got about this place. I was actually looking for a surprise special date night out with my wife and we had planned to go to Luce Segundo,but surprised to me, they were closed when we got there so we decided that we were lucky that Cork and Bull was right there, and we wanted to go try them soon anyway. I was excited to go to a proper “Chop House” it had been a long time. I parked and my wife went in and got a table on the bar side as she was told that the dining area was “reservations “and full. The room was lightly busy. Not slammed. That would have been fine if the rest of the night had matched a place that calls itself “Chesapeake’s Premier Chophouse.” It did not. I don’t want this to be too harsh of a review, but the price is higher so the small things are not small. If I am paying ~$50 for a mediocre Ny Strip, is it so much to not have wait for silverware and ask 2x for napkins. Service was to slow for a place that said it was about to get “full”. We were not in a rush — holiday, date night, have a drink, two. My Diet Coke was flat. I asked to switch to tonic water if they were out of CO2. I was brought a warm can of Diet Coke over ice, fine, not what I asked for, but fine. I am surprised the bartender doesn't notice the soda mix rate is off. The crab dip was excellent. Genuinely one of the best I have had ever. It just needed more bread. We asked. We were told three or four minutes. The extra bread arrived with the entrees, about 25 minutes later. The meal came out like the kitchen had just gotten crushed, which did not match what we could see in the back, and the restaurant was nowhere near full 3 or 4 tables on the dinning side, 1 women on the porch with a glass of wine and a charcuterie board and a glass of wine with her cigar. I'll Pause here also to say that the charcuterie board looked fantastic. I almost went with a pseudo tapas night and that would have been the play! I ordered the lamb chops medium rare. What I got was one blue, one medium, and one well. Same plate. The risotto underneath was beautifully flavored — 'mushroomy', creamy, the kind of thing you remember — and then CRUNCHY. Undercooked rice. Flavor of a good kitchen, execution of a rushed one. The Parmesan truffle fries were not quite soggy, but calling them “truffle” or “Parmesan” is generous. There was no real truffle character and no appreciable cheese. My wife’s NY strip was cooked as described on the menu, but “tender” is not in that description, and it was not in the bite either. The steak was not hot enough to melt the butter sitting on top. She has had a better New York strip at a chain steak places, but they ascribe themselves the Chop House moniker. Flash-fried Brussels sprouts were fine. Seating was fine. The disappointment is the gap. The room, the language on the website, and the prices ask you to expect a chophouse. What we got was a strong crab dip, a risotto that almost made it, and steaks that were not ready. Slow service in a half-full room, then food that tasted like it had been waiting or assembled in a hurry. We wanted a special night. The kitchen can do this — the dip proved it — and a house this ambitious should want another shot at getting the rest of the plate to the same standard. I went to the restroom, and my wife got boxes for the leftovers for the dogs. I returned and sent her to the car and took the cash and walked it to the server because we had allowed enough time to the evening. I explained the lamb shops and fries and that I was disappointed. The server to her credit wanted me to wait and talk to the manager I didn't really feel that I wanted to put a damper on the evening as my mood was good and I wanted to enjoy my wife.